Publications

June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Background Note

The Decline of the British Cotton Industry (Abridged)

Supplements the general argument concerning the decline of the British economy by showing how vertical specialization, horizontal competition, and entrenched job control combined to create incentives for management to adapt to changing international conditions by... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Business Cycles; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry; Great Britain

Find at Harvard

2005
Working Paper

Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-term Consequences

By: Lakshmi Iyer

This paper compares economic outcomes across areas in India which were under direct British colonial rule with areas which were under indirect colonial rule. Controlling for selective annexation using a specific policy rule, I find that areas which experienced direct... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Development Economics; Outcome or Result; Great Britain; India

Read Now

October 2022
Case

Margaret Thatcher: Changing the World

By: Robert L. Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the rise of Margaret Thatcher, the daughter of a shopkeeper, from a small industrial town in England to the longest-serving leader in the Western world. The case describes how she became interested in politics at an early age, attended Oxford, and... View Details

Keywords: Politics; Leadership Style; Personal Characteristics; Business ＆ Government Relations; Values And Beliefs; Work-life Balance; Mission And Purpose; Government Administration; Power and Influence; Great Britain; Europe

16 May 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

international business history story that hasn’t previously been told in great detail, but should be explored, says Giacomin, particularly since internment has long-lasting effects. During their incarceration, the Germans struggled with... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Manufacturing

December 2007 (Revised December 2021)
Case

The South Sea Company (A)

By: David A. Moss, Eugene Kintgen, Agnieszka Rafalska and Kimberly Hagan

In early 1720, the South Sea Company and the Bank of England were cometing for the right to issue new shares and to exchange those shares for government bons that were then in the hands of the public. The British government had already executed two such debt conversion... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financial Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Great Britain

February 1990
Teaching Note

Steve Shirley, Teaching Note

By: Shoshana Zuboff

Teaching Note for (9-490-004). View Details

Keywords: Europe; Great Britain

05 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Can Putin Score Olympic Gold?

in, and when they did, they saw a warm, welcoming city, with attractive facilities and convenient infrastructure. Team Great Britain also vastly exceeded expectations, earning 65 medals in the Games compared... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Advertising

1993
Book

British Multinational Banking 1830-1990

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book provides the first modern history of British multinational banking. It analyses their emergence, growth and performance from their origins in the 1830s until the present day. It is based on a wide range of confidential banking records, which are placed in the... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development; Information Management; Performance; Great Britain; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

June 1978 (Revised August 1987)
Background Note

Note on the Motorcycle Industry--1975

Discusses several changes in the motorcycle industry: the emergence of Japanese competitors; the growth in demand for light motorcycles; and the emergence of recreational uses; and how these changes have affected older United States and British manufacturers. View Details

Keywords: Change; Motorcycle Industry; Japan; Great Britain; United States

2012
Book

The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economy

In 1776 the United States government started out on a shoestring and quickly went bankrupt fighting its War of Independence against Britain. At the war's end, the national government owed tremendous sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens. But lacking the power... View Details

Keywords: History; Sovereign Finance; Ethnicity Characteristics; Economics; Great Britain; United States

2009
Book

Merchants to Multinationals

By: G. Jones

Merchants to Multinationals examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries and... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Alliances; Groups and Teams; Distribution Industry; Africa; Asia; Great Britain; Latin America

09 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The UK Needs a Bold Strategy Around Competition to Survive Brexit

EU regulations were in step with sound international practice. Remainers, on the other hand, have spent little time explaining what the UK can do better within the European Union to address the very real competitiveness challenges Great... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

04 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 4

Cotton Manufacturing At the time of the American War of Independence (1776-1783) and for several decades after it, Great Britain dominated the global production of cotton textiles. In fact, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Jan 2005
What Do You Think?

Public Pension Reform: Does Mexico Have the Answer?

in the 2040s. Great Britain has had roughly a similar government-sponsored system, combining public pensions with something called personal pensions, since the late 1980s. It is projected to result in a 26... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

1989
Book

British Business in Asia since 1860

By: G. Jones and R.P.T. Davenport-Hines

This book examines the historical experience of British business in Asia since 1860. Chapters on Iran, India, Thailand, Malayasia, China, Russian Asia and Japan explore the British impact on the region, and the relationship between British business and British and... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; India; Iran; Japan; Malaysia; Thailand; Great Britain

Find at Harvard

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Something Ventured, Something Gained: A European View of Venture Capital

established its initial offices in London, Paris, and Chicago, concentrating on placements for entrepreneurial ventures for almost a decade before setting up its first fund in Great Britain in 1981 to invest... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Financial Services

2014
Working Paper

Stepping Stone, Stopping Point, or Slippery Slope? Negotiating the Next Iran Deal

By: James K. Sebenius

The November 2013 "interim" nuclear deal between Iran and the "P5+1"—the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany—raises challenging questions. Will the initial deal function as a stepping stone toward a more comprehensive deal? Or will it drift into... View Details

Keywords: Negotiations; Iran; Nuclear; Conflict Resolution; Winning Coalition; Blocking Coalition; Strategy; Negotiation; International Relations; France; Germany; Iran; China; Great Britain; United States; Russia